Assault
by Door Is Ajar
Summary: When Wright gets a call from the police, he's informed that one of his employees and closest friends has just been assaulted. But what would bring this upon her?


It was the third sixteen hour day she had been working. Of course, she knew her boss would be displeased. But she almost had the case wrapped up, and wasting anymore time would be outright stupid.

"I don't care how close you are to getting it done, Athena! You're wearing yourself out, and you're not even leaving the office to sleep!"

It was heartbreaking for her to listen to him. She could hear every inch of the underlying concern and pity- as well as rage, obviously- that was mounted on every word he spewed. He should have known his twisted words would be painful, but she needed some common sense drilled into her, as well.

"But, Boss, I've almost got it! Just give me one more night, please?"

She might as well have been on her knees. Even he- lacking her sensitive hearing and the Mood Matrix- heard the sincere begging.

He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Do whatever you want. Just don't ask me for a few days rest when I told you from the beginning you were putting too much on yourself."

He never would have expected a call the following day from the police, of all people.

 _"Mr. Wright, I assume?"_ a burly man on the other end spoke.

"Yes, who is it?"

 _"Kristoff Anderson with the police department. I have Ms. Cykes with me."_

"Is she alright?" The panic flared in his stomach, and he couldn't help the outburst.

 _"...She was assaulted, Mr. Wright."_

The policeman was kind enough to inform him of another officer driving to the agency to pick him up. The kindness, however, did not quell the anxiety and nerves fluttering in his stomach uncontrollably. They pulled up to a lake on the outskirts of the courthouse and away from the main road. An ambulance and two police cars sat a few feet from the lake, lights flashing unbearably bright in the night's darkness.

"Right this way," the driver spoke. Wright stepped out, carefully following the policeman. He was led to the back door of the ambulance. A slight gasp left his mouth, but his feet wouldn't move to get closer.

Athena sat on the edge, legs crisscrossed neatly under herself. There was a puddle of water forming underneath her with a blanket wrapped around her drenched form. Her eyes were cast downward, and Wright found it hard not to notice the vibrating her body had been induced to.

He steeled himself. If anything, with the police being more interested in the crime scene than the victim, Athena needed physical aid, not verbal. He waved the policeman off with a soft 'thank you' and jumped into the ambulance, making himself semi-comfortable besides Athena. That, he dully noted, was rather difficult with the prospect he would be sitting in water no matter what he did.

He waited- and counted- for five seconds. The girl remained unresponsive, and he found himself pulling her into his arms ever so carefully. He placed a hand behind her head and slowly brought her under his chin. The other hand moved to her back, beginning to rub circles underneath the blanket and atop her soaked clothes. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as surprise flooded over him.

The night air alone chilled him as it neared the end of autumn and came closer to winter. Paired with the near-freezing temperature of the water Athena was covered in now being pressed flat against him, a chill went down his spine. He couldn't tell which aspect was the source of Athena's uncontrollable and rather unnerving shaking: the unbearable cold or the fear of whatever unexplained incident just occurred.

He was pulled from his thoughts as the girl in his hold wrapped one arm around him, the other reaching to the front of his chest and gripping a handful of the material. Muffled as she dug her face into his chest, she spoke, "I'm sorry..." Through the flashing of the police cars, he could track a few tears falling. She clutched his shirt harder, the water biting stronger at his skin. "I'm sorry."

"Shh..." Wright whispered, rubbing her head and accepting a deeper hug. "It's all right; you didn't do anything wrong."

Truth be told, Officer Anderson had told him Athena wouldn't spill a word once help arrived. The second officer, the one who drove him to the scene, did explain the known events. Athena herself had called 9-1-1; but upon her call being accepted, the receiver on the other end was met with hysterical crying. Only after repeatedly asking "Ma'am, where are you located?" did she manage to extract one small piece of information: the lake by the courthouse.

Within minutes an ambulance arrived, followed by one police car and then another. They found her laying beside the lake, the tips of her shoes still touching the rim of the lake. When the two ambulance workers neared her, she was unconscious with her cell phone laid next to her: still on with the emergency service number flashing at them.

They found no blood, and immediately they assumed she was suffering from nothing, aside from a prolonged exposure to the freezing temperature of the lake. The pair wrapped her in a blanket and, as one hoisted her up in his arms, she woke. The two rushed to set her down in the ambulance, and the police followed after to ask questions. When she remained mute and instead resorted to burying herself deeper into the warm confines of the blanket, the totaled six aides left her be.

One officer used her phone to learn her name and alert one of her contacts. Instead of rummaging through her list, he brought the device to Athena, softly telling her to just press whoever she wanted them to call. That officer, obviously, was Kristoff Anderson. He grabbed the phone back from her and informed Mr. Wright of the predicament.

Currently, Wright could see three of the officers searching with flashlights and a dog for any sort of clue to solve their mystery. He heard a door slam shut- one of the police cars- and Anderson walked over. The man appeared rather tired, his hair ruffled and uniform wrinkled. However, as he neared the pair, a gentle smile caressed his features.

"Why, hello, Ms. Cykes. I can't say I'm too happy to see you crying, but it's better than being mute."

She didn't respond. If anything, she tried to bury herself deeper into Wright.

Displeased with himself, Anderson rubbed at the back of his neck and looked away. "Aw, shoot, kid. I don't mean any harm. I just want to help."

"... Officer Anderson, right?"

"Hmm?" The man stopped his nervous habit and turned his attention to the lawyer. "Yes, sir, what do you need?"

Wright paused a moment, focusing on Athena. "Would it be too much trouble to get another blanket?"

"Oh!" Surprise lighted up his face. "No problem! I got a big ole' fleece one in the back of my trunk. Give me a second, and I'll get it for ya'."

The man rushed away, relief evident in his voice to help.

Alone once more, Wright's full attention remained on Athena. Slowly, he noted, her grip was releasing. Granted her violent shaking didn't seem too keen on calming down, at least her conscious tension was relaxing. "Athena."

He spoke softly. "How are you feeling?"

A few seconds passed, and a sharp curse flew out from Anderson's direction, presumably from some mishap with his trunk. Athena shakily sighed, and the hold on Wright was released. His arm never left her back and he didn't quite let her lean off of his side, but she brought both of her hands to rest near her throat. She didn't turn her face, but her eyes watched her boss's actions.

"Does it hurt? Your throat?"

She nodded, and Anderson arrived with a dark blue blanket folded in his arms. He hesitated, and then, silently, he wrapped it around the pair, tucking the sides around to fully encompass the two. "If you need anything, just ask." It was quiet, nearly a whisper, and then he departed in the direction of the search team.

With the officer out of sight, Wright leaned back gently into the ambulance, pulling out a small first aid kit laid on the flood and dragging it beside him with one hand. He reached in and pulled out a small flashlight. Flipping a switch, the bulb turned on, and he set the light on her neck. His eyes broadcasted shock, but he refused to voice his own worry.

A bruise was forming on her pale skin. Though water continued to drip from the tips of her hair and onto her neck and the blanket below, the discoloration clearly shined through. "Athena..." He could only get her name out before tears began falling once more, her eyes shutting tightly.

"Were you injured anywhere else?"

She shook her head.

Wright opened his mouth to reply, but a shout cut him off. "Hey, Mr. Wright!" The head officer jogged over, something grasped in his hand. He uncurled his fingers, showing the object to the pair. "Is this yours, Ms. Cykes?"

"Where did you find that?" Wright immediately questioned, pulling his free hand out from under the blanket to grab the item.

"At the edge of the lake. It was sitting in the grass beside a bunch of footprints, which we believe are from Ms. Cykes and her attacker." A break of silence passed, in which Wright's attention remained focused on the metallic device he held.

"Is there anyway one of your men could drive us home? I will be sure to leave my number with you in order to get Athena's statement. Tomorrow."

* * *

Officer Anderson was kind enough to drive the pair home. Or, at least, to the Wright Anything Agency. The heat radiating out of the car vents eventually became unbearable for the two men, but the shaking girl situated beside Wright in the backseat forced them to swallow their complaints before they even formed. Within viewing distance of the agency, Wright noticed Athena had fallen asleep.

He was forced to carry her up to the office, both sets of blankets bundled around her form. _"Keep them; you'll be back later today, anyway."_

He hadn't even realized the time until he arrived inside his office: _2:26 A.M_.

Laying Athena onto the couch, he made sure to run through a mental checklist he had prepared on the ride home. He turned the heat on to a sweltering degree (at least to him, anyway). He then rushed into a backroom and didn't return until his arms were filled with blankets and pillows, blocking out part of his view. He didn't want to wake Athena, but he also didn't want her resting in dripping wet blankets. He resigned to placing the blankets around her form, hoping she wouldn't mind the wet one closest to her body.

With a loss of what to do (He did admit, his checklist was rather tiny), he stepped towards his desk and, with small, hesitant steps, reached for his chair and pulled it out. He ran his fingers along the back edge, his mind taunt and on edge. With a deep sigh, he sat down and began rubbing the tips of his fingers on his forehead.

His eyes landed on Athena's form. It shook him to the core, how her usual optimistic and bubbly personality had been destroyed and lost so simplistically. A sigh escaped, and suddenly a light flashed from near Athena's bosom. It was a soft blue, followed by a soft *beep*, as if something were turning on. A short moan followed, presumably from Athena.

Wright stumbled to his feet. He stepped around the couch and was faced with Widget's light enveloping Athena's face. He watched her face for any sign of life and noticed a slight grimace, right before her eyes began to flutter open.

Her eyes began to wander around the dimly lit room before drowsily landing on Widget, the obvious cause for her abrupt rise from sleep. In an instant, she sat up, her eyes wide but still dull as if from exhaustion. "Oh, no..." It was nothing more than a mumble under her breath, and she reached for Widget, now yellow to match her emotion.

She fumbled with her hands; the tremor that encased her body from the cold caused her hands to shake uncontrollably, making it strenuous to delicately hold her electronic necklace. A silent moment passed before the item made another *beep*, and then suddenly the face changed to red, and then quickly back to yellow, before going through numerous jolts and jumps- blue to green, green to red, back to blue, blue to yellow-

And then a quiet, high-pitched whine as the machine shut off.

She was surprised as the blankets- which had all become untangled and lay around her- were pulled away and a new, fresh smelling, thick one was wrapped around her.

"Boss..." The term passed under her breath out of either shock or confusion.

"Officer Anderson found Widget beside the lake, and he explained during the car ride back that it seems to have some water damage, which should be easy to fix." His tone was rather flat, and it almost came out as a mumble. "But for now, you need to rest and get warm."

Her body stiffened as her boss's hands enveloped hers. They were a relief to the ice blocks her hands had become. A sigh of content escaped her lips, accompanied by a drop of water falling from the tip of her hair.

She opened her eyes hesitantly, gliding from Wright's stomach up to his face slowly, where she was met with warm and concerned eyes. She opened her mouth and struggled for a second to speak before he interrupted.

"Don't say it."

A pause. "What?"

An unsure grin passed his features. "Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong, Athena. You were attacked because you did your job- and you did your job _right_. And that's why, instead of apologizing, you should be considering a legal case against the guy who did this to you, with Apollo and me as your lawyers."

 ** _End_**


End file.
